Town Column : West Tisbury
By Hermine Hull
Published: January 15, 2009
What a week. Snow, then rain, then snow, and more rain, making walking treacherous. I could have ice skated out to my studio. I'm grateful that town trucks have kept the roads clear and well sanded.
To let everyone know about Murphy - he's fine now and we have no idea what happened. The night I wrote my column, I thought he had gotten into rat poison. He was drinking lots of water, then frequently needing to go out to get rid of it. Earlier in the evening he had gone through his electric fence. While looking for him we checked with our neighbors to see if he had gotten into anything, poison or rotted remains of a deer. Nothing. But he was moaning, bloated, and clearly uncomfortable, plus all the drinking. Our vet thought it more likely he had eaten something, as he had no diarrhea, dry heaves, or heavy vomiting. We watched and waited as through the week he seemed better, then worse, then better. By Thursday night he was playing with Talley and seemed himself.
I've gone into the details for the benefit of dog owners who may not know the signs of eating rat poison. Mike and I had a lot of experience with a former golden, Leiter. He was a young dog who was into everything, curious, and with more joie de vivre than anyone I've ever known. Mike had Michelle Jasny and Poison Control on speed dial that summer.
On a happier note, we have some birthdays to celebrate. Young Benjamin Stafford turned seven on January 4; his father Ben's birthday was January 8. Michael Dexter, an avid musician, received a Rock Band drummer component for his Wii on his January 8 birthday. I hope you all enjoyed your special day.
I was so sorry to learn that Jordan Winderl resigned from her job as music teacher at the West Tisbury School to move closer to her family in upstate New York. Jordan was a fabulous teacher. She really excited and engaged her students, who in turn adored her and gave her their best efforts.
There will be no school on Friday, Jan. 16, and Monday, Jan. 19. All town offices and the library are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
There are lots of events around town this weekend. Tonight, Thursday, Jan. 15, there is an All-Island String Concert at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center beginning at 6:30 pm. Friday afternoon at 2, at the West Tisbury library, there will be a free kid's movie shown, "Kung Fu Panda." Saturday afternoon, also at the library, Kevin Keady will perform a free concert. Come for books, refreshments, and music at 5 pm.
Prudy Whiting called to remind town residents that anyone interested in running for a town office or a seat on a board should stop by Town Hall to pick up his or her nomination papers. This year even incumbents will have to gather their 20 signatures rather than signing the ballot as in years past. Stop in at the Town Clerk's office or call 508-696-0148 for more information.
I was chastised, albeit with good humor, by a group of regulars at Sunday breakfast, disgruntled at not seeing their names mentioned in last week's column. So here's the story. For many years, Mike and I have had a date for breakfast at the airport's Plane View. It began with the two of us taking our newspapers or talking together at the first table on the right by the window, unless Kenny and Jeannie Francis arrived first. Then they had the table and we sat at another. There are groups of breakfasters, some we knew, some we have gotten to know. It is a great pleasure, not only to have a nice breakfast together just down the road from our house, but to keep up with everyone from week to week. So, besides the Honey family and the Coutinho/Hawksbee's I mentioned last week, here are the folks we see most every week: Wally LaBell, Frank Knight, Jiri Luncar, Wayne and Vinny Iacono, Joe and CeCe Cazault, Tom and Cathy Brennan, Rob Berkley and Debbie Phillips, Don Sexton and Ileana Pardo. At our table, there are many more than the two of us. We are joined by a varying cast of friends and guests, depending who's around and who gets up and out: Ernie Mendenhall, Kathy Logue, their daughter Megan, who graciously tolerates us grownups, Sue Hruby, Blue Cullen, Kurt Freund, Glenn and Linda Hearn, and Mike's brother Jared. Bob Wasserman and Henry Bassett come when Henry is on Martha's Vineyard. If I've left anyone out this time I'm really in trouble. We know all the waitresses and they remember what everyone likes and it appears like magic.
I hope everyone has a great week. The sun is finally out and the cold air is bracing.
